A vegetarian mum had a nasty surprise when she bit into her salad-filled Subway sandwich and a worm wriggled out of it.

Jody Smith was enjoying a meatless foot-long sub at the Derriford Hospital outlet with her family when the slimy creature made an unscheduled appearance.

The 39-year-old care worker says she was just halfway through when the little worm surprised her and crawled out from beneath a piece of lettuce.

But despite getting an apology from the fast-food chain - as well as a goodwill voucher for the restaurant - the Plymouth mum-of-three says she cannot understand how the wriggly worm came to be on her plate.

"I felt sick for the rest of the day," said Mrs Smith, who lives in St Budeaux. "It was a very thin garden worm and was about an inch-and-a-half long.

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"When I contacted Subway direct they said they were already aware of the incident and that the store had been in touch with the suppliers and that they would get back to me.

"But I never heard anything back until I contacted them last week asking for an update. They told me that because lettuce is grown in the ground, this can happen and that was that.

The Subway outlet is at the bottom of Derriford Hospital's multi-storey car park (Image: John Allen)

"I messaged him back saying, 'I'm not being funny, that's explained how the worm got onto the lettuce in the ground, but not how that went from your kitchen, through all of the preparation, and on to my plate.

"I never heard anything back.

"Surely food safety standards ensures the salad is washed first?"

She added: "I was offered some vouchers but I don't think I will be going back. I've never been to that Subway before, but our whole experience was very poor.